Chinese Drone manufacturer DJI and the Swedish medium format and aerial camera company announced earlier today that they have formed a ‘corporate partnership’ after DJI acquired a strategic minority stake in Hasselblad.

As DPReview points out, the reason for this move is to help DJI dominate the aerial photography market in the movie-making and surveying sectors, using Hasselblad’s technology and experience.

On the other hand Hasselblad will receive an undisclosed amount of funds, though definitely significant, to help with the development of future products other than medium format cameras.

Despite the partial acquisition, the companies will not be merging any of their businesses and say consumers will not notice any change.

While the joint press release states that “Hasselblad and DJI will each focus on their individual strategic directions and related growth opportunities, with marketing and branding platforms continuing to delineate the two companies”, the companies will also be sharing information and we might end up seeing Hasselblad products with DJI technology or vice versa.

“The partnership will allow opportunities and new ways of combining the technical knowledge and inventive spirit of the two industry leaders in their respective fields”, the press release states.

The first Hasselblad camera was an aerial camera and the company recently announced a new aerial camera, the A5D – this time with no moving parts. The 40/50/60MP camera’s technology, as well as its sophisticated multi-camera synchronization software for detailed aerial surveying and optical skills are said to be the reason DJI was so interested in purchasing part of Hasselblad.

As mentioned, the production process of each company will remain unaffected meaning that Hasselblad equipment will still be handmade in Sweden while DJI’s products will be mass produced in Shenzhen, China.

Hasselblad’s CEO Peery Oosting shared his excitement:

“We are honored to be partnering with DJI, the clear technology and market leader in its segment. DJI and Hasselblad are equally enthusiastic about creativity and excellence, and we are looking forward to sharing technical expertise and paving the way for future innovations.”

Frank Wang, DJI’s founder and CEO, was obviously happy with the deal that will strengthen his company’s foothold in the professional camera technology space:

“Hasselblad and DJI share a passion to provide creative people with cutting-edge, inventive technology to help them take visual storytelling to the next level. With this partnership, we combine our strengths to further push the borders of what’s possible in imaging technology.”

The companies also reminded us of Hasselblad’s experience and history when it comes to aerial photography, mentioning that its technology was used “in space on several NASA missions, including the first landing on the moon and several of the Apollo missions”.